Foraging in our lovely village

It was a right old chilly start to the day today and sadly the weather did not improve much.  Nicky and I were off out walking early and we decided to do one of our regular trails which takes us out of the village towards the bandstand and then across the hills and up a sharpish incline before getting back into the village.  Over the last few days the wild poppies have started to put in an appearance and the fields are full of them looking bright and cheerful.

 In addition to the poppies the small wild gladioli known as Lazarus lilies are up but are normally picked by the locals which is a bit of a shame.  There are signs of old Artichokes which have gone to seed now being overtaken by the fresh new lush growth.  The countryside is green and giving and although it was bloomin' freezing when we set off we were invigorated by our surroundings.

We have cows in Droushia and some of these have had calves.  We didn't go too close for fear of upsetting the mums.  Some were hobbled so they could not wander too far but we were uncertain as to whether they all were.  It is a good time for them now as the fields are lush and they are moved around like living lawnmowers so that they can eat all they can reach before being moved to a new area.  Just before the cows we had come across a compound full of rabbits - not sure if these are just running wild or are destined for the table but they did look super cute!  No piglets today - perhaps it is the wrong time of the year for these.

Not knowing too much about artichokes I don't know whether these are ready to be harvested or not.  I have prepared them once - it seemed a lot of effort for very little reward as only the inner most bit of the heart seems to be edible.  I am always keen to try and always keen to learn particularly if these things can provide us with something different to eat.

This is when I miss the expertise of my lovely friend Elena who used to organise foraging trips.    It is said that the land of Droushia can feed you if you know what you are looking for and when I hear George speaking about some of the plants his mother would find and cook I really want to know more but I worry that I might not recognise the correct plant and take something which is not good for you to eat (or worse).  So I stick to what I know.

Anyway being able to stop and take a good look at what is around us on our walk is a great excuse to catch our breath particularly on one of the long inclines.  Nicky and I realised we had not done this walk for quite some time having been doing longer but less arduous routes more recently.  I want to get my fitness back before it gets too hot to walk but time seems to be running out.  Still we managed to today pretty well and were back home before some of the neighbourhood appeared to be up!!!

There was still dust in the atmosphere today - we couldn't make out the coastline in front of us but the hills and fields were pretty impressive.  We probably got the best bit of the day because on our return it got cloudier, windier and colder - this is not unusual for April but I know it comes as a bit of a shock to George and Pam whose home is really only kitted out for the Summer.  I am glad we put our old grey rug down in the lounge for them because they have really appreciated it being there.

There was an abundance of wild Asparagus right on our doorstep which I picked so that we could have cheesy scrambled eggs with asparagus for our brunch before going down to Polis to get our weekly shopping done before the mad dash that will happen later in the week as it is Cypriot Easter this coming weekend.  

To keep warm I dedicated the remainder of my day to ironing - John was ecstatic because it gave him the opportunity to go through some of his clothes, discard some and keep others which were duly ironed and hung or folded.  He can now see what he has to wear!!!

After our evening meal we went to spend an hour or so with Lakis and Argy - their time used to be so wrapped up with Kia that I know they are struggling to find their new normal.  They are considering changing their car so had been looking today.  This will set John off for sure!  He still hasn't completely shelved the idea of changing one of ours.